Benedict Cumberbatch can ride that "War Horse" all the way into production on J. J. Abrams' "Star Trek" sequel. The actor ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "Atonement," voices in the upcoming "The Hobbit") has boarded the Paramount franchise, and rumor has it it's to play to play the villain...

Benedict Cumberbatch can ride that "War Horse" all the way into production on J. J. Abrams' "Star Trek" sequel. Britain's go-to-chameleon ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "Atonement," "The Hobbit") has boarded the Paramount franchise, and rumors abound as to which villain he'll play (is it Khan?). He will be joined by other "Trek" newbies Noel Clarke, Alice Eve and Peter Weller, as well as the returning Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban and John Cho.

Abrams, who plans to post-convert the film to 3-D (aargh) wrote the script with Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci. Release is set for May 17, 2013.